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Taranaki Daily News, 17 January 1931, Page 5 (Supplement)

“HE’S A GENIUS.”

IS HE? (By G. A.) Generally speaking, it is impossible to tell what a child under seven years of age is likely to be when he grows up If he persists in strumming cn the piano or “watching the wheels go round” after that then you can begin to think that he is a musical or engineering genius. . , Time and time again I have heard fond parents extolling the genius oi their offspring when the youngsters have barely passed the crawling stage. All children like strumming on the piano, and most children love to watch the wheels go round.” But this does not mean that the strummer is cut out tor a pianist or the wheel-watcher for an engineer. Sometimes, of course, quite young children display a keen and lasting interest in one particular subject. This, however, is usually due to the tact that one of the infant’s parents is keen on the subject aiid that the child is merely following in father’s footsteps. Don’t imagine that, because little Jack wrote three lines of more-or-less poetry at the age of live, he is a born poet. If you start holding forth about it to your friends and acquaintances, you will see only sarcastic smiles. Don’t worry about what your child is going to be when he grows up until he is at least ten or twelve years of a>m—unless, as I have said, obvious o-enius 'begins to show itself when the small person is only seven. The great thing to do is toltrain the child to obey, encourage him to observe, and leu him have plenty of good food and exercise. OLD-FASHIONED SWEETMEATS. CHILDREN’S PARTY FARE. (By M.M.) Stuffed dates—Shell a number of Brazil nuts, remove the kernels without breaking, and peel them. Stone the same quantity of dates, put the nuts in place of the stones, roll the dates to their original shape and dip in sifted sugar. Put each into a small paper case. ;

Candy.—Four into a saucepan one breakfastcupful of sugar, half a breakfastcupful of milk and one dessertspoonful of cocoa. Stir till the mixture boils, but no longer. Let it copk quick- ( ly until it hangs in long thick drops from the spoon; then beat vigorously until it tak'es on a thick creamy consistency. Pour into a greased tin; when cold, mark into squares, break, and pack it. The candy should be crisp, yet creamy. Old-fashioned barley-sugar—Boil together three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, quarter of a pint of water, and half the white of one egg. When the syrup commences to candy, add one teaspoonful of lemon juice; then boil quickly till it shows signs, of candying a second time. Butter a dish, pour the sugar thinly over the surface, and, as it eools, cut it into long strips, roll and twist like rock. Caramels. —Take two breakfastcupsful of rndist brown sugar, half a cake of plain chocolate, two tablespoonsful of margarine, and half a teacupful of milk. Boil all for about twenty minutes, pour, on to a greased dish to the depth of half an inch, smooth with a wet knife to give it a gloss and, when partially cold, cut the caramel with a thin wet knife into small squares.

A PLEASANT HORS D’OEUVRE.

■ 'SARDINE PASTE. Ingredients: 15 large sardines J 1 small onion; celery salt; mustard pickles; pepper; olive oil; grated cheese: olives; tomatoes. Scrape, clean, and mash the sardines to a paste. Grate the onion and mix it in with the chopped pickles, and celery, salt and pepper to taste. Add sufficient olive oil to moisten well. Spread the mixture on a round dish and sprinkle grated cheese thickly all over it. Stick in olives here and then?, and arrange a row of tomato slices all round. Serve as an hors d’oeuvre, or as a tea or supper dish, with brown bread and butter. RICH AND FISH CAKES. Ingredients: Mb. fish, a few cloves of garlic; 1 egg; parsley; 2 tablespoonsful rice; 1 small carrot; salt and pepper; breadcrumbs; horse-radish. Boil the fish, skin, bone, and flake it. Skin the garlic and beat it to a cream; add it to fish, with the 'beaten egg and chopped parsley. Boil the rice till soft; drain, and mix it with the other ingredients. Grate the carrot and add this, with salt and pepper to taste. Form all into a soft paste with sufficient breadcrumbs, make round cakes, coat them with breadcrumbs, and fry golden brown. Drain, and serve hot with grated horse-radish.